Australian Police Question Govt. Employees on Crypto Mining Operation

4 stars based on 67 reviews

Updated March 08, Two Bureau of Meteorology employees are being investigated by the Australian Federal Police AFP for allegedly running an elaborate operation involving the use of the bureau's powerful computers to "mine" cryptocurrencies, ABC News has learned. Federal police officers executed a search warrant at the bureau's Collins Street headquarters in Melbourne on Wednesday last week February The officers spoke to two IT employees, according to people with knowledge of the raid.

The rest of the bureau's IT team was ushered into a conference room and told to wait while the employees were questioned, the people said. At least one of the employees who was questioned by the AFP has since gone on leave.

No charges have been laid but the investigation is continuing. Cryptocurrencies, of which Bitcoin is the most well-known, are created by computers that have been tasked to solve complicated mathematical formulas in a process known as "mining".

Over time, bitcoin mining news australia equations become more difficult to solve, requiring miners to harness more computational power. Last month, a group of scientists at a Russian nuclear warhead research centre were arrested for allegedly using the facility's supercomputer to mine cryptocurrencies. The opportunity to make big profits in cryptocurrencies bitcoin mining news australia sparked a flurry of speculative interest.

While mining cryptocurrency is not illegal, use of the bureau's computers to carry out the process could be an illegal use of government resources. A spokesperson for the bureau declined to answer questions, citing the ongoing investigation, as did the AFP. If the employees were mining cryptocurrency, they may have been using the bureau's computers to either avoid the significant electricity bills involved in mining, or they may have been taking advantage of the bureau's powerful computational power, said Chris Berg from RMIT's Blockchain Innovation Hub.

The Bureau of Meteorology has some very fast computers. Another possibility, though, is that they're just trying to get the Bureau of Meteorology to pay for the electricity. Mining is a very electricity-intensive task and they probably didn't want to pay for it themselves," said Dr Bitcoin mining news australia. Bitcoin was created a decade ago and was bitcoin mining news australia by a series of other digital currencies such as Ethereum and Ripple.

Most rely on a principle known as the blockchain, essentially a digital ledger that records transactions in a permanent, verifiable way. So for instance if you successfully mine Bitcoin Last month the Bureau of Meteorology made headlines when it apologised for hosting fake advertisements directing people to a Bitcoin scamthough that scam is not believed to be connected to the current investigation. Bitcoin mining news australia posted March 08, If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC.

ABC teams share the story behind the story and insights into the making of digital, TV and radio content. Read about our editorial guiding principles and the enforceable standard our journalists follow. Franken-food and plant-based protein — the future of food is coming fast and it's slaughter-free.

Supermarkets regularly defend their wanton use of plastic, claiming its what customers want — despite the increasing clamour from unhappy shoppers on social media who clearly don't need their bananas wrapped in clingfilm.

By North America correspondent Stephanie March. In the hillside enclave of Los Feliz in central Los Angeles the playground and classrooms of Immaculate Heart High School are abuzz with chatter about the upcoming royal wedding. Mohamed, a Cairo donkey barber, uses tramadol daily to cope with gruelling work and grinding poverty like an growing number of Egyptians, another example of the opioid crisis that is expanding worldwide.

The opportunity to make big profits in cryptocurrencies has sparked a flurry of speculative interest in Bitcoin. Do you know more about this story? How Bitcoin mining works Getting rich by mining bitcoin is as simple as turning on bitcoin mining news australia computer, right?

BOM says it was "unacceptable" that the scam ads were allowed on its site. Why bitcoin mining news australia buy cryptocurrency despite the risks Will those who've made cryptocurrency profits pay their tax? Meet the investors sticking with bitcoin despite the market crash Iceland will soon use more energy mining bitcoins than powering its homes What bitcoin crash?

Aussies eye initial coin offerings This is what happens to your bitcoin when you die Bitcoin buying among students so prevalent one school held a meeting Will Bitcoin go the way of MySpace bitcoin mining news australia floppy disks?

What the bitcoin bubble tells us about ourselves TGIF! But don't spend your bitcoin on beer Bitcoin explained: The digital currency making millionaires. Man clings to bonnet of car as torrential flooding bitcoin mining news australia Ankara 'It's one thing after another': Hawaii bitcoin mining news australia for more lava, quakes from Kilauea volcano Morrison says budget tax cuts won't be 'mammoth' 'Down with the Tsar': Man drives 65 kilometres with 3, bees loose in truck.

Connect with ABC Bitcoin mining news australia. Got a news tip? Editorial Policies Read about our editorial guiding principles and the enforceable standard our journalists follow. The addiction plaguing Egypt's poor By freelance correspondent Walt Curnow Mohamed, a Cairo donkey barber, uses tramadol daily to cope with gruelling bitcoin mining news australia and grinding poverty like an growing number of Egyptians, another example of the opioid crisis that is expanding worldwide.

Just In Teenager critical, four others burned in fire pit explosion Cowboys NRL player Scott Bolton charged with alleged indecent assault at Bondi New parks set aside to save declining koala population in NSW Telstra apologises to house fire victims whose triple-0 calls went unanswered Meat industry needs to be 'bolstered' bitcoin mining news australia live export protests continue in SA Anger in France, Britain over Trump's gun laws speech Hundreds descend on central Australia for 'black Olympics' of the desert Malaysian police intercept tanker carrying Sri Lankans believed bound for Australia Fishing boat crewman missing in 'massive search area' off central Queensland David Warner sets out on road to redemption after ball-tampering saga.

Hawaii braces for more lava, quakes from Kilauea volcano 'Down with the Tsar': More than 1, arrested in anti-Putin protests across Russia Forget the checkout: Man drives 65 kilometres with 3, bees loose in truck 'She doesn't need to be saved': Here's what it means for you Forget the checkout: Bitcoin mining news australia the party crashers as Muscat leaves Jets overcome with frustration The anguish of a rising Labor star hits home with many outside of politics Get ready for the Santa routine we haven't seen in 11 years Changing these few things can drastically reduce what we send to landfill Chinese missiles in the South China Sea have the US and Australia in a difficult position.

Media Bitcoin mining news australia Audio Photos. Connect Upload Contact Us. Change to mobile view.

How to import private key bitcoin address into blockchain wallet new 2017

  • How to earn interest on your bitcoinpoloniex lending

    Ccg cloud mining vs hashflareethereumzcash

  • Blockchain wallet backup withholdings

    Nano botox richee e bom

Robot icon pop answers characters level 2 part 3 page

  • You tube robot software ipod nano

    Blockchain open source ledger

  • Cryptocurrency arbitrage trading botbitcoin arbitrage

    Game generation liquid sabotage

  • Bitcoin ami

    How to use bitcoin

Dogecoin hacker game online

10 comments Us court menghentikan operasi pertambangan bitcoins butterflylabs

Iobit driver booster pro 32 portable

Updated March 09, You can buy bitcoins with fiat currencies — legal tender backed by the issuing government, like Australian dollars — through online exchanges, or you can create brand new bitcoins in a process known as mining.

The main feature of cryptocurrencies is that they operate on a decentralised peer-to-peer network, with no central authority or government backing. The underlying technology that makes cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin possible is what is known as the "blockchain".

When a transaction is made it is added to the end of the blockchain and confirmed using a series of complex computations by the computers of other users who are on that currency's network.

The most recent transactions made on the network are bundled up into a transaction "block", which is finalised roughly every 10 minutes. Once a computer solves the block's complex equations and finds a valid hash key it is added to the blockchain, verifying bitcoin transactions between users, while at the same time rewarding the miner with new bitcoins.

It can take a while for miners to reap rewards, as only the first user to solve the block by finding one of a number of valid hash keys is rewarded with bitcoins.

During the early days of bitcoin in , a common household computer would have been powerful enough to mine for dozens of new coins using its CPU or GPU. The currency automatically regulates the difficulty of the mathematical problem adding complexity to the hash value computers need to find as well as the number of bitcoins received as a reward. If a lot of people are connected to the network to mine for bitcoins, the difficulty of solving a block increases. This is known as the hash rate.

The number of bitcoins rewarded also adjusts, with an end result that means every four years only half the amount of coins created in the previous four years can be made. Recently, the invention of specialised computers used solely for mining has dramatically increased the difficulty of obtaining bitcoin. Bitcoins can be mined solo or as part of a pool, but even then the bitcoin or fraction of the coin you receive will likely not be enough to cover the electricity cost. Bitcoin mining was extremely easy when the network first began, but it is now out of the realm of common home computers.

Due to the way Bitcoin was coded, there is a limit of just under 21 million bitcoins that can be created. However, a single bitcoin can be subdivided as far down as the eighth decimal place 0. Want to know more about bitcoin? Read our explainer to see exactly how the cryptocurrency works. First posted March 08, If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC. ABC teams share the story behind the story and insights into the making of digital, TV and radio content. Read about our editorial guiding principles and the enforceable standard our journalists follow.

Franken-food and plant-based protein — the future of food is coming fast and it's slaughter-free. Supermarkets regularly defend their wanton use of plastic, claiming its what customers want — despite the increasing clamour from unhappy shoppers on social media who clearly don't need their bananas wrapped in clingfilm.

By North America correspondent Stephanie March. In the hillside enclave of Los Feliz in central Los Angeles the playground and classrooms of Immaculate Heart High School are abuzz with chatter about the upcoming royal wedding.

Mohamed, a Cairo donkey barber, uses tramadol daily to cope with gruelling work and grinding poverty like an growing number of Egyptians, another example of the opioid crisis that is expanding worldwide. Bitcoin can be mined by users who solve complex equations. The digital currency making millionaires. BOM staff investigated over alleged Bitcoin mining. Pump turns to dump — bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices plummet. A chain of block erupters designed for bitcoin mining.

Why we buy cryptocurrency despite the risks Will those who've made cryptocurrency profits pay their tax? Meet the investors sticking with bitcoin despite the market crash Iceland will soon use more energy mining bitcoins than powering its homes What bitcoin crash?

Aussies eye initial coin offerings This is what happens to your bitcoin when you die Bitcoin buying among students so prevalent one school held a meeting Will Bitcoin go the way of MySpace and floppy disks? What the bitcoin bubble tells us about ourselves TGIF! But don't spend your bitcoin on beer Bitcoin explained: Man clings to bonnet of car as torrential flooding hits Ankara 'It's one thing after another': Hawaii braces for more lava, quakes from Kilauea volcano Morrison says budget tax cuts won't be 'mammoth' 'Down with the Tsar': Man drives 65 kilometres with 3, bees loose in truck.

Connect with ABC News. Got a news tip? Editorial Policies Read about our editorial guiding principles and the enforceable standard our journalists follow. The addiction plaguing Egypt's poor By freelance correspondent Walt Curnow Mohamed, a Cairo donkey barber, uses tramadol daily to cope with gruelling work and grinding poverty like an growing number of Egyptians, another example of the opioid crisis that is expanding worldwide. Just In Teenager critical, four others burned in fire pit explosion Cowboys NRL player Scott Bolton charged with alleged indecent assault at Bondi New parks set aside to save declining koala population in NSW Telstra apologises to house fire victims whose triple-0 calls went unanswered Meat industry needs to be 'bolstered' as live export protests continue in SA Anger in France, Britain over Trump's gun laws speech Hundreds descend on central Australia for 'black Olympics' of the desert Malaysian police intercept tanker carrying Sri Lankans believed bound for Australia Fishing boat crewman missing in 'massive search area' off central Queensland David Warner sets out on road to redemption after ball-tampering saga.

Hawaii braces for more lava, quakes from Kilauea volcano 'Down with the Tsar': More than 1, arrested in anti-Putin protests across Russia Forget the checkout: Man drives 65 kilometres with 3, bees loose in truck 'She doesn't need to be saved': Here's what it means for you Forget the checkout: Victory the party crashers as Muscat leaves Jets overcome with frustration The anguish of a rising Labor star hits home with many outside of politics Get ready for the Santa routine we haven't seen in 11 years Changing these few things can drastically reduce what we send to landfill Chinese missiles in the South China Sea have the US and Australia in a difficult position.

Media Video Audio Photos. Connect Upload Contact Us. Change to mobile view.